Improving

My attention span is getting better. I can read for 10 or 20 pages without stopping. My focus is increasing. My concentration does not lapse as easily. I feel better. The distraction falls away.

Mountains beyond Mountains

And there's no end in sight...

Walking with a ghost

Slept downstairs to stay out of the heat. The basement is full of shadows and has no doors. I kept imagining a ghost who would walk in. I looked for it, anticipated. It never came. I scared myself.

thou canst not smile as the wind sits

Dark house, red wine. Solo Friday night. The lack of structure is becoming a small problem for me. There seems to be almost no reason to do anything if I'm the only one in the house. I have the air conditioning off, so the basement is often the best option for a tolerable temperature. Making food, then eating too much. Playing video games. Drinking aforementioned red wine. Podcasts. It's a tough life.

Who does not love women, wine, and song....

Remains a fool! But may we add, anyone who automatically disdains box wine will soon be parted from his treasure. A 3 liter box of wine gives you the equivalent of four standard 750 ml bottles, usually at a very good price compared to buying by the bottle. I got a box of Big House Cabernet, a nice discount label from California, for about 20 bucks yesterday in DC. Why pay more for bottles? Because a box is uncouth? I beg to differ. A box is economical, and probably better for the environment in the long term. If I don't pay for the glass in the bottles, I come out ahead. And you can always go for glass when the occasion calls for it. My kingdom for a good box of wine!

Status

Back in the USA and better than ever. I have a huge mustache growing from not shaving in Ghana whatsoever. I'm settling back into life here. The house is cavernous and empty without A for the next two weeks. Now avoiding working on my paper.

The new jam

Stuff I'm enjoying for summer

-Zinfandel (very hospitable to Cabernet enthusiasts)

-Wearing a T-shirt and khakis to work and putting on a sweater when I get there

-Curry and cayenne in my oatmeal. To literally spice things up

-Biking around DC. Bikeshare is here to stay

-Lightly dressed salad consisting only of cabbage, ginger, carrots, and capers. If you don't like raw cabbage yet you're missing a bet

-Saving lots of money and getting a nice tax deduction for IRA contributions

-T.B. Sheets: haunting when you know what it's about

-Making my own (everything)

-Rapid tomato growth

Mr. Money Mustache review

After seeing a column about the Mr. Money Mustache site and its founder in the Washington Post, I've been reading through some of the posts on the site.

He's basically a guy who decided he wanted to retire at 30, then went out and did the damn thing. He and his wife saved the majority of their take-home pay, lived cheaply on what remained, and didn't get into debt. Presto, retirement at 30.

Conclusions:

-The rhetoric can be a little overheated. Here's a sample line: "After years of careful study, observations, and interviews with real car drivers, I have come to the conclusion that about 90% of the car use that occurs in the United States is Pure Bullshit." This might put me off if he didn't have something important to say

-The advice is generally good, based around the principle that you should avoid credit, save more than you spend, and invest in the stock market via low-fee index funds

-It's a little easier to retire at 30 when you're making 100k a year at a software job in your 20s, but I think the writer would counter that he's pushing a philosophy more than encouraging you to exactly replicate his example

-Box wine is a steal!

-It makes me want to save more and try to retire by 40 if I can (too late to try for 30)

-The site encourages an anti-consumerism mindset, which can't be a bad thing if it catches on. It encourages readers to be conscious of the financial choices they make and remember that habits can be costly.

Rough edges aside, the man has something to say. Is anyone listening?

KoS Installment 6

Failure having been eliminated by fiat, there would be only one other option: success.